Consumer magazine ad revenue (print only) grew by 0.5% year-over-year in Q1 2013 to reach $4.13 billion, according to recent data from the Association of Magazine Media (MPA). While ad revenue for Sunday magazines declined by 3.7%, that was not enough to offset the increase for consumer magazines, leading to overall ad revenue edging up by 0.2%. The increase came despite pronounced ad page declines of 4.8% for consumer magazines and 8.2% for Sunday magazines.
The increase in print ad revenue is the first in 2 years, and comes after a reported 3% decrease for both consumer and Sunday magazines last year. Print ad revenues for magazines continue to outperform those for newspapers, which dropped by 9% last year, marking the 7th consecutive year of declines.
Other Findings:
- 2012 audience figures for print titles and their digital replicas grew by 1.6%, or 13.5 million new readers.
- Digital-only magazine audiences grew by 44%.
- 61% more titles posted Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) revenue and page gains in Q1 2013 than in Q1 2012.